Do you recycle rp plots?

[VALEN T.]

I'd like to start off with a small poem I've been working on some quite some time now

*clears throat*

Yeet
Skeet
Meet
This leech

(someone put me in time out please
user @/fudgecakez has been officially cancelled)

So anyways

I've seen a few interest checks in the "Finding Partners" section where the user posts their plots for the potential-partners to choose from and the comment section is filled with requests, right? So let's say that there's Plot A, B and C and twelve comments equally asking for all three. If I see this scenario, the first thing that immediately comes to mind is... "Are they really going to roleplay the same plot with sm people?" Now of course, there are people who you don't click with and people who ghost you but out of twelve, you can hit it off with at least four, no? So you'll be repeating one plot with two of your partners.

My question is: doesn't one quickly get sick of it? Replaying the same plot with two people? I mean, I've tried before and got bored so quick because even though it was an open-plot (i.e "this can go anywhere whoop!") they both went in... the same direction? And from then onwards, I refuse to redo any old plots and it kind of drives me away when users are willing to share plots with their partners because there's this fear that "Oh, they're gonna get fed up real soon and even if I'm enjoying, they are going to drop it."

Tl;dr
Do you play one plot with more than one person at the same time?

(Ok so lemme be real for a sec: I saw this interest check where the user said they're up for any number of roleplays, using any of the given plots n I was like,,, h o w ? So now I post)

 

[rae2nerdy]

So first thing about interest checks, never assume anything based on them.

1. The people who post in the threads might not actually end up in a roleplay. I have plenty of people who message me - Hey I'm interested in X from your thread - we get two posts into a conversation and I never hear from them again.

2. A lot of people reuse their interest check thread. So just because plots are lettered A, B, C. doesn't mean those exact same plots have been used all the time the threads have been open. They could have been switched out for different ideas and just kept the number/letter system.

Ex. In March Plot A might have been - hey let's do something with unicorn farmers. But in April Plot A might be - hey let's do a dragon rider plot.

3. Some plots really can be done a multitude of ways. Maybe they play from a different characters perspective, maybe they end up putting the plot in a different setting, etc. It really depends on the plot in question how many different ways it can be changed around.

4. Some people just have specific tastes and they can do the same plot over and over again with no problems. The same way some people can read the same book multiple times and never get tired. And other people can only read a book once and never again. It's just a personal preference thing.

 

[Nue]

This might just be pure luck on my part, but whenever I've had multiple people express interest in the same plot (and it didn't end with ghosting or deciding it just wasn't gonna work) they've usually either went in completely different directions, or they've went a similar way but the characters they've used were so different that it had a completely different dynamic, and that kept things interesting. If you have a really specific idea for how the plot can go from the start you're probably more likely to get bored, but I like to keep my plots sort of vague when I pitch them and then we'll work out the fine details when they message me, so that might be why, 'cause I sometimes end up with like.. two different plots from just one prompt.

 

[Jannah]

Occasionally. Sometimes I get a really good idea I want to try, but then it falls apart before it really gets started so I recycle and try again. Only if I really like the idea and am already invested in it, though.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I'm kind of the same as N Nue , most of my ideas are super vague (ex. wizard farm raising magical livestock) or revolve around a specific setting with no clear story (ex. let's explore a world where you can bring your dreams to life). So most of the time the very vagueness means that people will come up with their own variation on ideas and where the roleplay goes. In the rare instance where I see an idea is too closely mirroring something I already have going I'll just nudge my partner into making slight changes.

Now when I have more specific ideas I will only limit them to one active roleplay at a time. If that active roleplay ends I will re-use the idea with a bit of tooling to fix what didn't work the first go round.

 

[Onmyoji]

I try not to, if I can avoid it.

If I start a plot with someone and then it got dropped, most likely I will never go back to it. Or I will but in a few years or so. Or I may keep the setting if I like it too much to give up on it but do a completely different plot in it.

I may start more than one rp within the same fandom simultanously if I get a major craving for a specific fandom (which rarely happens but it does sometimes), but I will either play different characters for different rp, or if I play the same character it would be entirely different plots.

 

[Tove]

Nope. If I have a particular plot going with someone I have zero desire to repeat that same plot with someone else and at the same time? No way. I would probably end up dropping both roleplays as much as I would want everything different it would end up being the same. Same plot twists, same characters, just a whole headache and a ticket to taking a break from roleplay for a good while.

All in all no. When I had request threads up I would mark out the ideas that were taken to avoid something like this or just tell people my interest is no longer there.

 

[Idea]

Up to a point, yes. I never allowed myself to do a given plot with more than three people at a given time, and that was back I still got swarmed with requests. One I distinctly remember got really popular was my "putting the S before the "he"" plot, about what was essentially an anime trap having to make it in an all girls school due to a mistake. For some reason, other than vanilla plots (AKA plots which were essentially just pairings, and very basic ones at that) it was one of my most popular back then, counting by requests.

That said, things really don't usually get to that point. Even if they did, the thing with me is that I don't put plots in my interest checks unless I really, really want to do them (most of the time) and since given my strict requirements partners will drop like flies I typically stick with several partners for the same plot in hopes of getting one good instance of it.

Even that though doesn't happen much these days. Again because of said requirements I pretty much only get a partner on very rare occasions, and then it's mostly me approaching them.

 

[Redfork2000]

As a person who tends to actively participate in five or six roleplays at the same time, I've had the chance to recycle plots a couple of times. There's many ways to do it cleverly without feeling like you're doing the exact same thing again:

1 - If it's a vague plot or just a setting without a clear story, it can be driven in a completely different direction from the first time you played it. Since you're roleplaying with someone else, that person's creativity can help your plot play out in a different way.

2 - Choose different roles. Perhaps your RP plot has a defined storyline to it with defined roles. Have you considered playing different roles this time around? Perhaps last time you played the bad boy. How about trying to play the good girl this time? I understand that many people stick to specific roles because those are the roles they're most comfortable RPing, but still, I think this is an idea that's worth trying, specially if you're open to playing a wide variety of characters. It also helps to enrichen your RP experience. Since you already saw someone else RP that role last time, you might even use that to help inspire you on how to RP the role if you're not sure how to do it.

3 - Create new characters. Perhaps you want to stick to the same role you played last time. How can you make the RP still feel like a different experience? Use a new character to fill the same role! I always like to get creative when it comes to making new characters. Ask yourself: How would this RP play out if I used this kind of character instead? Perhaps your previous character was calm, level-headed and introverted. How about switching it around a bit, and making someone who is cheerful, friendly and talkative instead? Perhaps last time your werewolf character was tough, short-tempered and courageous. How about switching it to a more calm, perhaps even shy character instead? And I'm not only talking personality traits. Give your new character a different background. Give your new character a different family. Perhaps your previous character didn't have siblings. How about your new one does, and that sibling plays some secondary role in the story? The possbilities are endless.

4 - Genderswap the roles from your plot idea. Perhaps your romantic plot could be switched so that instead of a prince falling in love with a female servant, it's a princess falling in love with a male servant. Perhaps instead of a male vampire with a female human, it's a female vampire with a male human. This can help you assume a different role in the RP if you're the kind of roleplayer that only feels comfortable roleplaying one gender. It can also cause a few changes in how the RP plays out entirely.

5 - Use the "What if?" method. If you're finding that your RP is going exactly the same way as the previous one, then use this method. When a significant moment in the RP is about to take place, ask yourself: "What if instead of doing the same thing he did in the last RP, this time this character does this?" "What if instead of this happening, something different happens?" "What if instead of saying this, my character says this instead?" Find moments in the RP where you can branch into an alternate timeline of events. This can lead the RP to possibilities that were unexplored the first time, and can be very rewarding if you know how to implement them. Of course, avoid anything that feels contrived or forced, though.

Of course, there's also the possibility that you were RPing a certain plot with someone else, but the RP didn't get very far. In that case, it's a great idea to recycle the idea, and try it again with someone else. I like to do that, specially if it was an idea I was really looking forward to RP. Of course, there's also people who like RPing the same plot over and over again, and don't get bored of it. If that's your case, then that's perfectly fine too. I personally like to change things up a bit everytime I try to recycle a plot idea.

 

[Delinquent]

Yes, absolutely. Whilst it might not show, I put down a reasonable amount of effort on my plots. And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let all that effort go to waste because the rp didn't work out the first time.

 

[Rabid_Rabbit]

Yeah, I'll play out the same plot with multiple people because the way each player responds will shape the plot differently!

In one plot I used to throw out, it's a magical student and teacher kind of plot where they come to a dreaded necromancer's kingdom to learn how to control their untamed magic (me playing the necromancer because ... I'm like that) and this has branched out in dozens of different ways!

In one, the student fell pregnant and was forced to fight her lover in a tense arena standoff, in another the student had their magic burned out of them and became a master of dragons, in one the necromancer fell in love with a dryad and cast off his dark mantle to become a holy knight. Like I could never have predicted any of these happening and they were all fantastic. If people don't want to recycle plots, it's usually so they don't get overwhelmed, rather than that the plot is being used.

 

[Dark lord steel]

I do - to an extent.

Often when you broach an idea with someone it will either never take off at all or die in its infancy. If I was particularly looking forward to the story I might then start proposing the basic idea with someone else, and develop it to be similar but not identical.

If I had a role play I loved that ran for a considerable amount of time, I am likely put off that exact story for a while, as I know I'll just be pinning for the original. Same if the role play crashed and burned with some bad feelings between us both, but I will likely return to the idea at some point in the future.

However, I do usually return to the same very basic (and malleable) framework, as I do enjoy it the most. I love exploring different aspects of a world from varying perspectives, and I find this is easier to do over several role plays rather than cramming it into one. (That's also a reason I enjoy playing fandoms, but that's a different topic.)